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2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airshow by Aviationbuff Photography

Photos and brief from the 2011 PDK Good Neighbor Day Open House & Airshow which took place on June 4, 2011 at Atlanta/Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK). A fun and enjoyable event, the Good Neighbor day show is easy to get in and out of and has plentiful parking & food as well as additional entertainment for the kids. This show featured an excellent lineup of civilian performers including: Team RV, Skip Stewart, Gary Ward, Greg Koontz, Chris Darnell in the FlashFire II, Greg Connell, Pat Epps, Larry King, Buck Roetman, Mark Sorenson & Jeff Moss as well as the Army’s Black Daggers skydiving team. The flying was excellent but the temperature was brutal for this early in the year, topping out in the high 90’s by mid-show. This kept the attendance under last years record numbers. On the day of the show, I had an early morning assignment to photograph the Team RV members before the show began. When the photo session was finished, I was offered the opportunity to ride along for the morning flight. My pilot was Jerry Morris. Jerry is an excellent pilot and a great host. I was able to grab some air to air shots which are included in this gallery. This was my first time in an RV and found that the bubble canopy offers great visibility, but it also casts a good amount of reflection from everything in the cockpit. I will remember to wear dark clothing the next time I am photographing from an aircraft equipped with a bubble canopy. For photographers, the lighting at this show is problematic for the high altitude passes earlier in the afternoon. By the time the headline performers are flying, the lighting is pretty good. This venue is also one of the few where you can capture a lot of the flying action with a 200mm to 300mm lens. By the way, I shot all of the flying from the control tower with my 80-400VR. While I was a long distance from the action, it gave a unique perspective to a number of the shots. I must give special thanks to Travis Reynolds for the wonderful access to the control tower and Kari Morris of Team RV along with the entire team for their help and generosity. Photos were taken with Nikon DSLR bodies and lenses. All photographs by Chris Buff of Aviationbuff Photography, located in Suwanee, Georgia USA.